HOW BELIEF WORKS

'Belief … is the central problem in the analysis of mind. … Psychology, theory of knowledge and metaphysics revolve about belief ...'

– philosopher Bertrand Russell, 1921

Belief, from core beliefs to mundane ones, is obviously fundamental to human psychology, and therefore also our lives. However, the current understanding of how beliefs form, and of the nature of belief, is wrong – and not just a bit wrong, but the-Sun-goes-around-the-Earth wrong.


And just as the truth about the Sun and the Earth’s relationship had profound implications for cosmology, the truth about belief has profound implications for human psychology, and therefore also our lives. But this truth is so counterintuitive that it can, ironically, initially seem unbelievable – as did the idea that Earth isn’t the stationary centre of the universe but sweeps around the Sun while spinning about an axis.


This ongoing series of articles reveals the counterintuitive truth about the psychology of belief, and its profound implications.


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